Snaps from the Field

Duct Tape and Bailing Wire

Anyone who grew up on a farm knows that much can be done with duct tape and bailing wire, at least to get a job done in the short-term. But repairs made in the short-term are often forgotten and become long-term, permanent, repairs. Here we see duct tape used to repair a gaping hole in a sink tailpiece. This is well past due for a plumber to come in and make the proper long-term repair: replace the tailpiece, and while they are at it, go ahead and replace the old, rusted drain assembly that connects to the sink.

Rule #65 of home inspections: If anyone *can* do their own framing work, anyone *will* do their own framing work.

We’ve all heard about the “good bones” of a house, and well, the framing members are quite literally the bones of the house. Here a homeowner has installed a new window in a wall but failed to install a header across the opening to support the floor joists above. Over time the weight of the joists may cause the doubled-up 2x4s installed flat to sag. This can create problems with the window and can result in visible deflections in the floor or walls above. A proper installation would have a properly sized header – probably a 4×6 or 4×8 in this case.

I’m Melting! Melting!

Well, no, this building isn’t coming to the same fate as the Wicked Witch of the West, but its split-face block wall does have serious issues with water penetration. Split-face block walls absorb a lot of water and it lifts the paint as it tries to escape. The source of the water penetration may be from improper flashing details or even from small fissures in the face of the porous block itself and, on this wall, we see no mid-wall flashings, weep holes, or any other ways for water to be directed out of the wall assembly. Re-coating, sealing, and painting large areas of a wall like this can be very expensive, and will not “fix”. Repairing the wall surface would also not address any possible hidden damage to wood and metal framing inside this wall, especially where floor framing ties into the walls. This wall needs to have additional invasive inspection work to fully understand and eliminate the water penetration and to find and repair any hidden structural damage.

Rule #64 of home inspections: If anyone *can* do their own plumbing work, anyone *will* do their own plumbing work.

As we’ve mentioned before, every plumbing fixture is supposed to have one trap to hold a small plug of water and prevent sewer gas from rising up out of the drain. This homeowner must have been one of those people who believe that “more is better.” The water from this sink passes through not one, not two, but three traps: the white trap in the foreground, the middle trap, and the trap at the lower left. It’s like that big rainbow-colored slide at the carnival. I can hear you asking, “But how do you know that a homeowner did this plumbing?” That’s easy. Plumbers don’t use fittings with price stickers on them.

Rule #63 of home inspections: If anyone *can* do their own electrical wiring, anyone *will* do their own electrical wiring. Especially with Home Depot and Lowes there to encourage them.

This light fixture is intended to be installed over a flush-mount electrical box. (That’s a box that fits inside the wall and is flush with the surface of the wall – or better, yet, of a mounting block.) In this picture, someone installed the fixture over a surface-mount box. The joint between the two isn’t water-tight and can’t be made water-tight.

Bathroom Lighting – Perhaps these Christmas lights could be relocated…

to a place where they’re not likely to fall into a tub of water containing a person. Just a thought.

Insulation and Wiring – Rule #62 of home inspection: If a rodent *can* gnaw on a thing, it *will* gnaw on that thing.

All rodents, including mice and rats, have four front teeth that never stop growing and must be worn down to keep them at a manageable size. If necessary, they’ll simply grind their teeth together to keep them at a manageable length, but they much prefer to gnaw on other things like wood, plastic, and the sheathing and insulation on electrical wiring. In some cases, when desperate, they actually eat the insulation. That wasn’t the case here, as the chewed-up insulation remains in a pile below the cable.

Electrical Service Drops – Avoid a “Hot” Summer

This electrical service drop contains a variety of defects:

• Both the utility splices are exposed at the “hot” legs of the service drop. The exposed conductors could shock or kill a person or animal. A strong wind could blow the splices into each other, causing an electrical arc that would damage them and pose a fire hazard to the house.
• Concealed contact between aluminum and copper wires might have caused the white corrosion.
• To the right of the utility splices, the big black lumps are split bolt connectors that an electrician installed when the temporary connection was made; they weren’t meant to be permanent.
• The short sections of cable between the split-bolt connectors and the utility splices are smaller than the other service cables, and could overheat.

Plumbing Drain or Miniature Golf?

The home inspector’s nemesis: a homeowner who’s willing to undertake any repair, regardless of ability. Every plumbing fixture with a drain requires a trap to hold a small plug of water and prevent sewer gas from entering the home. Even though this installation has two traps, neither will do any good because they’re both installed on their sides. Instead of holding plugs of water, these will just slow the flow of water. I’m not sure why they put blue toothpaste on every joint – these are slip joints that require no sealant.

Attic Pulldown Ladder – Drive nail through hole in bracket.

Seven words that are difficult to misunderstand. So why do people misunderstand them so often? As any home inspector in the Portland area will tell you, attic pulldown ladders are rarely installed properly. They require, at minimum, four nails (or sometimes lag screws) through each of the four mounting brackets. Most people use drywall screws, which are a particular problem because they have no listed strength and because they can snap so easily, and they always seem to drive them through the wood frame, which can split.